Colonial breeder which occupies rocky habitats in mountains and lowlands (incl. sea coasts), as well as buildings and other infrastructure in human settlements (Keller et al. 2020).
Its breeding range covers the Mediterranean basin (S Europe, N Africa, Levant, Asia Minor) eastwards to the Himalayas, W India, Sri Lanka, as well as E & S Africa (Chantler et al. 2020).
Eurasian-African long-distance migrant. European migratory populations overwinter in Africa.
Its population trend in Europe is stable or locally increasing (Keller et al. 2020). Evaluated as “Least Concern” (BirdLife International 2021).